I say come opening night, Augustin will get the run because he's experienced over Stone who's rarely gotten NBA run, and Buycks being a rookie. I would also like to see Augustin get more consistent minutes at the spot as well, just because he's been a starter in this league, played on playoff teams, etc.

I will say though, Buycks and Stone are certainly capable back-ups if Lowry comes down with another injury *knock on wood*.

I don't think so. Alan Anderson used to try to do too much. That's one thing with DJ, he doesn't try to play outside of himself. That's probably one of the reasons you don't notice him much when he's on the court because he's a more passive player. Buycks tries to do too much at times because he's more aggressive and Stone is just not healthy and has zero offensive game at the moment.

I don't think so. Alan Anderson used to try to do too much. That's one thing with DJ, he doesn't try to play outside of himself. That's probably one of the reasons you don't notice him much when he's on the court because he's a more passive player. Buycks tries to do too much at times because he's more aggressive and Stone is just not healthy and has zero offensive game at the moment.

slaw probably meant in terms of Casey's over-reliance on a "veteran" player, despite his limited abilities on the floor.

"It has looked like the Raptors backup point guard spot has been D.J. Augustinís to lose since Toronto signed him as a free agent earlier this summer. Augustin is a 5-year veteran with 146 NBA starts under his belt and was the backup point guard on the Eastern Conference Finals Pacers last season. However, Head Coach Dwane Casey has been adamant that the backup spot to starter Kyle Lowry was wide-open and neither Julyan Stone, Dwight Buycks nor Augustin have done anything to change his mind yet." D.J. Augustin: Raptors Backup Point Guard?

I believe the backup job is still Augustin's to lose - preseason doesn't really count. However, based on preseason - I really like Julyan Stone. If Augustin is ineffective - Stone will get his shot at PG.

I don't get what happened to DJ. Dude was an average starting PG in Charlotte. Didn't he start over Raymond Felton?

Nope...

Ray Felton is a pretty good PG. I'd put him in the Jose ballpark, in terms of you can trust him to run your O, be a team-first guy and decent leader.

Augustin...man, I just don't know what to say. I can't remember the last time I've been so unimpressed with a PG. I'd even rather have Ben Uzoh over him. He plays with "calm". He doesn't try to do to much....because pretty much everything he tries to do is a colossal failure. He's good at holding his dribble at the top and not doing anything, and he's good at shooting 3s on the catch and shoot...which means others have to create for him.

And yes I'm being harsh on him. I will keep being harsh until he either looks like an NBA player, or stops getting minutes.

Ray Felton is a pretty good PG. I'd put him in the Jose ballpark, in terms of you can trust him to run your O, be a team-first guy and decent leader.

Augustin...man, I just don't know what to say. I can't remember the last time I've been so unimpressed with a PG. I'd even rather have Ben Uzoh over him. He plays with "calm". He doesn't try to do to much....because pretty much everything he tries to do is a colossal failure. He's good at holding his dribble at the top and not doing anything, and he's good at shooting 3s on the catch and shoot...which means others have to create for him.

And yes I'm being harsh on him. I will keep being harsh until he either looks like an NBA player, or stops getting minutes.

i mean he started all 82 games for that mediocre bobcats team the year before it was blown up. He's still only 25 so he has a little room to improve. Hopefully he can at least get back to playing like an average pg.

thats the thing with PGs they are great mediocre or awful. They dont really get better with the exception of Cory Joespeh who is in San Antonio best development program team in the league.

Awful: Carter/Marshall Mediocre: Augustin/Bayless Great: Paul/Rondo

Dude....just off the top of my head from the recent past: Mike Conley, Chauncey Billups, Goran Dragic, Steve Fucking Nash...do I need to go on?

Okay, I will: Sam Cassell, Brevin Knight, Terrell Brandon, Muggsy Bogues. I'm sure if I gave it another 2 minutes thought I could come up with 10 more. Point guards are the most likely players to need a few years before they really "get it". Very few come into the league fully ready to lead an NBA offense.

backup point guard

TRex wrote:

Season is 2 days away and we still have no clue who the backup PG is. If it's up to you, who'd be Lowry's backup?

At this stage kL should probably start BUT on a short leash because last year and this year he has been a poor distributor as he showed last night with 4 yes 4 assists in the first half ,for the entire team. This is totally unacceptable if the team expects to win more than they lose. We may not know by Christmas or Easter who the backup will be because they all have special skills and will likely show MORE growth than KL during the season. This in the long run is a unique plus that few if any other team has. This is not a problem as many impatient writers imply. In order to grow they need more playing time. D Buycks has more upside thanany of the Pgs including KL in shooting and speed. The only thing he needs is experience ie playing time. This is crucial for the future because the GM IS NOT going to offer KL with his score first mentality and unfocused defense an expensive long term contract which is what he has said he wants. To maximize his worth and not just let him walk he is almost for sure likely to be traded for other assets. STEVE FISHER